IT'S NEW!
Well, this is the same FCCJ e-mail bulletin you have used to get from me. Just thought that it is time to shape it up, and make it more appealing and easy to read.
Hope you think I succeeded... ;-)

If you think that you have friends and/or colleagues that would like to receive this newsletter, please click the link to the right.

The presentation will be made by Mr. Hajime Kobayashi (left), Deputy Director and Mr. Yoshiki Ohya, Manager, at the Japan Regional Development Corporation (JRDC).
Whether you are starting a new business in Japan or are planning to relocate, JRDC has the resources, experience and expertise you need to quickly and efficiently establish your business and thrive.
JRDC was founded in 1974 by the Japanese Government.

Please register by tomorrow Wednesday. Click link to the right to do so!

Shinnenkai Party
Our informal "get-together" to celebrate the New Millenium in was held last Thursday at AURORA Nordic Bar & Kitchen, Roppongi, Tokyo,

16 members enjoyed Finnish Style dishes and drinks, and the speech by our Special Guest and LONG-time friend, Mr. Bo W. Long, who served Finnair in Tokyo for several years in the late 80's and early 90's is in Tokyo.
Mr. Long retired from Finnair New York last summer and serves now as President of the Finnish American Chamber of Commerce in New York (FACC).

Mr. Long is, apart from his presidency in the FACC, also involved in cruise business, and that was part of his reason for coming to Tokyo (main reason of course to meet us!)
In New York, the Kobe beefs are this big..

February Luncheon Meeting
The February Monthly Luncheon Meeting is held on Friday 23rd of February at 12:00 at Capitol Tokyu Hotel.
This is a joint meeting between the Scandinavian Chambers so we expect about 100 attendants.

This time we have prominent guest speaker from Finland, i.e. Mr. Vesa Vainio, Chairman, Nordea (Nordic Baltic Holding).
The theme of his presentation will be: Consolidation in the Nordic Financial Industries

Nordea is the new name of the financial group formed through the merger of Merita Nordbanken and Danish Unidenmark which will soon be joined by Norwegian Christiania Bank og Kreditkasse.

Mark this date in your calendar now.
To learn more about Nordea, click link to the right.

Annual General Meeting
The FCCJ Annual General Assembly will be held on Friday 30 March at 16.30 at the Embassy of Finland.
Further details will be provided later, but mark this date in your calendar already now.

News from FinlandBrisk growth - abroad
Finland's 72 biggest firms expect to increase their turnover by as much as 13 pct a year over the next five years, according to industry and employers' federation TT. But most of that growth will originate from overseas subsidiaries, while the domestic parents return to about 5 pct following the post-slump boom.

That's still healthy, TT says, but labour and capacity shortages will cap growth at home. By 2004 overseas activities will be generating some EUR 160 billion, accounting for 77 pct of their combined billing. Last year 212,000 of their total workforce of 457,000 worked abroad, producing 68 pct of their income of EUR 114 billion.

Grin of the WeekWell, this time I don't tell any jokes or funny lines, but give you a warning, from my own experience.

If you receive attachments in e-mails that you are not 100% sure that they are safe, detele them! (or at least delete the attachment). I received an email with subject "Jokes" and an innocent looking attachment named "LIFE_STAGES.TXT", which indicated that it was a plain text file. As I received it from a director I know at a very reputable big Japanese company, I opened it in a weak moment of curiousity (thought I get some new jokes for this column...), even if I have been aware of the risks, and have had the principle to delete attachments that I did not immediately recognize as safe.
When I opened the file, I got a Notepad file with the joke, but simultaneously I noticed a lot of activities on my PC, and guessed what was going on. I checked my outbox in the mail program, and managed to delete three messages that the mail program was about to send automatically, 12 had already been sent...
The virus VBS.Stages.A automatically mails the message to all recipients in your address book. My Norton Antivirus did not detect it, but another virus program which I tried later, did.

So, if people cannot tell their funny jokes INSIDE a mail message, don't look at the attachment!
Lesson learned....once more....

If
you have any comments, rumors, gossip and inside information, send it to
to: fccj@gol.com

ABOUT
THIS NEWSLETTER
This bulletin is published by the Finnish Chamber of Commerce in Japan (FCCJ) and distrivuted to over 200 persons among its members and related organizations.
FCCJ was established in April 1999 to promote trade and economic exchage between Japan and Finland and has today 70 corporate members.